The 2026 Kentucky Derby ran for a $5 million purse, paid out to the top five finishers. Golden Tempo's winning share was $3.1 million. None of that money comes from the betting windows: the purse is funded separately, by the track and its partners, and it is paid to the horse's connections regardless of how the pari-mutuel pools settle that day. Getting a horse to the gate costs real money too, in nomination and entry fees that are due long before anyone places a bet.
How the $5 million splits by finish
The winner's $3.1 million is about 62% of the whole purse, more than the next four finishers combined. Nothing is paid below fifth. The purse for 2027 had not been announced as of this writing; Churchill Downs sets and publishes it closer to the race, and it is worth checking the Derby's own purse page before assuming it will match 2026's figure exactly.
Who actually gets paid: owner, trainer, jockey
Splitting the winner's $3.1 million
By the customary split TwinSpires reports, the owner keeps 80% of the purse earnings, with the trainer and jockey each customarily receiving about 10%.
| Winning share | $3,100,000 |
|---|---|
| Owner's share (about 80%) | about $2,480,000 |
| Trainer's share (about 10%) | about $310,000 |
| Jockey's share (about 10%) | about $310,000 |
This is the custom percentage split of the purse among connections, not the jockey's separate riding fee for the mount, which is a smaller, fixed amount paid regardless of where the horse finishes.
What it costs just to enter
Fees to get a horse into the Kentucky Derby
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Early Triple Crown nomination (by late January) | $600 |
| Late Triple Crown nomination (by early April) | $6,000 |
| Supplemental nomination, Derby only | $50,000 |
| Supplemental nomination, all three Triple Crown races | $200,000 |
| Entry fee | $25,000 |
| Starting fee | $25,000 |
No row matches that.
An owner who nominated early and starts pays a minimum of about $50,600 in fees before a single dollar of purse money is in play, per BayEquest's breakdown of the published fee schedule.
Free to reuse with credit and a link to this page (CC BY 4.0).
Those fees explain why not every good three-year-old runs in the Derby: a horse with no realistic chance of finishing in the money is an expensive entry, and a late supplemental nomination for a horse that skipped the early deadline can run into six figures by itself.
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